Education | Tourism: Training program for Lusophone tourism office staff kicks off

A training program tailored to civil servants from tourism offices of Portuguese-speaking countries has started. Between March and July this year, three training sessions, lasting two weeks each, will be conducted in Macau, involving a total of around 30 government personnel from tourism authorities of Portuguese-speaking countries.

The program is organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), in cooperation with the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries (Forum Macau).

The first batch of civil servants started their training yesterday, with participants from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. A second group will arrive in Macau in May and a third in July. The training content includes internships in several MGTO departments, and two days of workshops at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) about Managing Attractions Effectively, Consumer Behavior and Destination Branding. There will also be field trips to various sites of tourism-related infrastructure, the city’s historical and cultural heritage areas and other attractions of Macau.

The internship aims to acquaint the trainees with the daily work of MGTO as well as the overall development of Macau’s tourism industry. By carrying out the training program, MGTO hopes to enhance mutual learning and exchange between Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries in the field of tourism.

MGTO signed a memoranda of understanding on cooperation in tourism with Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique in 2010, with East Timor in 2013 and with Angola in 2015. In addition, in 2016 the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture signed a protocol on cooperation in tourism with the Ministry of Economy of Portugal.

According to a statement issued yesterday, from 2012 to 2017, MGTO provided training to a total of 130 government personnel from Portuguese-speaking countries.

PPRD region delegation visits Portugal and Germany

A delegation from the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Region is on a visit to Portugal and Germany, in order to establish closer ties with the green industry network based in Europe and in Portuguese-speaking countries. The two-nation visit – from 11 to 19 March – has been organised by the local. According to a statement issued yesterday, “ the visit is an additional step in the ongoing effort to diversify the PPRD Region’s trade and economic cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and with European countries.”